Firing employees is tough, it is even more difficult if you have been putting off the confrontation because of fear. Fear of what? You might be thinking (if you have ever run a team you probably did not have that thought...your mind immediately started thinking about a situation or a team member that taught you tough lessons).
Disgruntled employees can cause a myriad of problems. Poisoning culture, spreading lies about your organization, leaking trade secrets, stealing client lists....it can be a nightmare.
I read this story and it hit close to home. Our clients are Owners, CEO's, Sole Proprietors and that business typically was built with their hands, client by client, relationship by relationship. The data that employees have access to within our businesses is powerful, and may be used for good or evil....
I encourage everyone who is leading a team:
Review your onboarding and offboarding procedures.
Carefully inspect your databases and review least privilege policies. Meaning do your team members have access to information that they don't necessarily need?
Have a plan in place for removing access in rapid response situations if necessary.
Lastly, in order to hopefully avoid unnecessary pain, train your team, listen to your team, engage with them and connect with them. Have the hard conversations, encourage growth, invest in the human beings. Disgruntled doesn't happen over night, and is rarely invisible....Harden the Target, Stay Vigilant!
Reflections on article tagged below:
